AUSTIN — The same day the U.S. House voted to ban abortion at 20 weeks, Republicans in the Texas Senate at least temporarily abandoned a similar proposal and instead approved a bill to tighten regulations on clinics, doctors and abortion-inducing drugs.

The Texas measure by Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, was approved 20-10 late Tuesday, after hours of deliberation. After receiving final approval, the bill will go to the state House, where Hegar said he hopes the ban will be reinstated.

The federal ban isn't expected to become law, given opposition in the Democrat-dominated U.S. Senate and from President Barack Obama, but was seen as an important statement by Republicans in Congress.

Hegar said he eliminated the 20-week ban from his measure because he wanted to advance abortion-related proposals that had the best chance of passage with a week left in the special session called by Gov. Rick Perry.

Hegar also highlighted the fact that lawmakers have yet to finalize proposals on other issues including transportation funding.

“The question becomes for me, what can we pass out of this chamber, out of the House, and ultimately make it to the governor's desk that one, raises the standard of care; No. 2, protects life; and makes a significant advancement in dealing with the last seven days of this legislative session,” Hegar said.

Some Democrats suggested Senate Bill 5 and its changes are rooted in political calculation, without enough time for lawmakers to gauge their consequences.

Some raised concerns that the proposal would result in diminished care for women. Perry added the abortion issue to the special session just last week.

“You are ... certainly taking away a woman's right to control her own body,” said Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, who called the measure “a politically expedient proposal.”

The bill would require abortion facilities to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers, which critics have said will cause mass closure of clinics.

Backers of the measure said clinics could upgrade if they chose.

It would require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles, which critics say would impose a requirement that isn't mandated for many other surgical procedures.

The measure also would impose requirements for administration of drugs to induce abortions that backers say follow recommended protocol but critics say would enshrine outdated and potentially harmful language in law.

Similar measures failed to make it to the floor for debate in the regular session, when different rules were in place that gave power to Senate Democrats by requiring a two-thirds vote for bills to be considered.

That threshold no longer is in place in the special session. Democrats do have some bargaining power, however, because a two-thirds vote is required to pass the transportation proposal favored by GOP Senate leaders, since it's a proposed constitutional amendment.

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, a San Antonio Democrat who's a pharmacist, said she was concerned that the proposal on abortion-inducing drugs would require adherence to an outdated dosage regimen that could cause more side effects than current practice.

An amendment by Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, later changed the provision to allow the dosage currently used by doctors.

Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, said the proposal would mean the closure of all abortion clinics in 16 of the 17 counties in his sprawling district — all except Bexar. He said that means an estimated 150,000 women wouldn't have the service in their counties.

Not all Democrats opposed the legislation. Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, is a co-author.

“My faith tells me that life begins at conception,” Lucio said. “This is not about choice. This is about a child.”

Sen. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, said there's no real evidence the legislation would raise the level of care, saying it instead would reduce access by causing clinics to close.

“This is really fuzzy logic,” Garcia said.

Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, disagreed that clinics would close, saying owners should be able to afford changes in facilities.

“This is a money industry,” Deuell said.

He also responded to a comment by Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, that the measure is meant to feed “red meat” to GOP primary voters.

“I would submit there's some other red meat being thrown around here for primaries on the other side,” Deuell said.